Air lines/Airports

A snowHead

So we’ve decided on Montgenèvre for our second family ski trip next March, and chosen Napoléon Residence to stay in.
When going to book (through Heidi who were great for the first trip) we can either fly Ryanair to Turin, or our preferred airline, Jet2 into Grenoble, and back from Chambery. We are limited from Stansted which is 15mins from us.
Now we are not seasoned flyers as we caravan the rest of the year so thought I would put it out there.
What’s the best option, Ryanair (terrible company) into what appears a decent airport with short transfer. Or Jet2 (good preferred company) into what appears bad airports, with slightly longer transfers. Puzzled

A snowHead

@Dpetchey, nothing wrong with Ryanair, I use them all the time from Stansted. Just make sure you double check everything before clicking to pay.

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Hmm. Not a fan of Grenoble. Even less so for Chambery - where the queues to get through security can be beyond belief. I prefer going to Geneva or Lyon, and accepting the transfer time.I have never used Turin though, and will look at that as an option in future.

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Turin is a lot easier and shorter transfer. Motorway from the airport to d'Oulx then short vally road to Cesana then up the mountain.
Grenoble is an endless and busy valley road with traffic to several other ski stationsn then the Lautaret pass (if its open) then down the valley to Briancon before climbing up the mountain.

How are you planning to transfer? If hiring a car,Turin also has more hire car options.

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How are you planning to transfer? If hiring a car,Turin also has more hire car options.[/quote]

That’s some really good information.
We will use private transfers each way.

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After all it is free

Haven't used Ryanair but have used Turin airport for Via Lattea resorts. Very convenient and would be my recommendation.

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@phil_w, I have found Ryanair to universally be an unpleasant experience, to a degree that I will fly anyone (pretty much) else unless no option.

Whereas I find Easyjet to universally be very pleasant. And it's not like we fly once a year - more like every couple of weeks.

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Regarding stanstead. Have a wee chat with someone at checkin and ask what gates Ryanair normally fly from. Buy something from a shop to eat and head there so you get a seat. RAir normally call you up to the gate before the plane has even landed so you can be standing about for an hour if you don’t get a seat.

I’m not sure if RA have seat allocation if you have a child with you. However if taking boots on as cabin bag it may be worth while one of you standing in the queue to make sure they are in the overhead.

I normally don’t queue but wait until
The end and just grab the first seat. However, since the flight is probably cheap it may be worth while paying for a seat.

In the past when flying from stanstead the security queue was crazy so it was worth while paying for fast track. However I’ve heard so many do this at stanstead these days that it isn’t worth it now and fast track takes the same time as the normal queue.

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I would pick Ryanair to Turin over any airline to Chambery. Ryanair are actually OK so long as you follow their rules (e.g. luggage allowance/size + print boarding pass and/or use the app). In fact, they are one of the most punctual airlines.

@GlasgowCyclops, If they want to take boots as hand luggage they will have to buy priority boarding - they will get space in an overhead somewhere and a seat. I haven't bothered with fast track at stansted for a couple of years, its been not too bad.

@under a new name, define "universally unpleasant" and "universally very pleasant". I find RA and EJ to be broadly similar

You know it makes sense.

@Dpetchey, definitely Turin.

BA also flies that route (albeit from Gatwick, not Stansted).

I’m with @under a new name, and avoid Ryanair. All airlines seem very similar but when something goes wrong, they differentiate themselves pretty fast. Ryanair will happily cancel a flight a few weeks before if the load factor isn’t enough, offer you an alternative that goes to an airport 100 miles away, and leave you with the bill to change your car rental. Having avoided Ryanair for over a decade since it last did this to me, we booked them this summer (as they were the only airline flying to our destination), to get exactly the same treatment again. I’m clearly cursed.

Edited coz of rubbish geography

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

@HilbertSpace, me too. There are very few airports I actively dislike but Chambery is one. Even if everything goes ok it’s small and lacks facilities - but with it being in an often foggy valley things seem to not be ok quite often, and then it’s a flippin’ nightmare.

A snowHead

@snowdave, its never happened to me with ryanair. I booked early for Barcelona for my last trip, the flight was changed to different times on the same day but I chose better times, which were better than the original, and that was that. The last time I had a real issue was with EJ when the last flight out of Geneva was cancelled and it was chaos getting to a hotel after midnight with no way to get food, they then declared it was not their fault and wouldn't compensate, but I won that one.

A snowHead

Not a fan of Chambéry. It can close if the weather comes in. I won’t be the first SH who’s ended up being bussed to a hotel (in Grenoble) for the night because of poor vis in Chambéry.

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Definitely Turin over the others. Jet2 is usually a more pleasant flying experience, however, Ryanair will get you there fine. I had one pretty bad experience with Ryanair about 20 years ago and vowed never to use them, however, they are usually the most convenient and cheapest option from where I usually fly from to get back to the U.K. so started using them and I’ve not had any problems since.

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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Agree with everyone else. Turin. Personally I'd always rent a car and Turin is cheap and very easy to get in and out of. No experience of transfers but it's bound to be cheaper than Grenoble. Which is not exactly an airport.....

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@holidayloverxx, in my (admittedly, deliberately limited) experience of Ryanair, it felt like a hideously cheap experience. I did not feel like a “valued customer”.

Easyjet on the other hand is much more pleasant.

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If Ryanair is the obvious way of going, as it is in this case, because the alternative goes to a much more distant and unreliable "airport" it would be cussed not to choose it.

After all it is free

I have no psychological need to feel like a "valued customer" of an airline. Just getting me there is fine. My worst airport delays and queues in years have been in Geneva. Last May with easyJet was the worst but I don't think it was easyjet's fault. Passport control was a disgrace.

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@Origen, it was really that on the ? 4 occasions I've been on Ryanair I really felt unwelcome. Really unpleasant.

I men, sure, if it's the only route, well, suck it up, but not if avoidable.

Have I mentioned Wizzair?

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I now equate getting on a short hop flight with getting a bus or a train. Get on, sit down and switch off. If someone who works on the method of transport is polite to me, great. If not, oh well.

I flew Jet2 last week and it very much felt like a flight for holiday makers - which it was for the majority of people. The staff were pleasant and jolly as a result. My last easyJet and Ryanair flights were very similar - they want you to get on quickly, get off quickly but leave you alone unless you want a sandwich - I’m quite fine with that.

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@hammerite, +1. I totally think a short haul is like a bus..but with benefit of getting a seat

"bus" is also my attitude.

Not being snarky, but I can't imagine being "made to feel unwelcome". I guess I don't pay enough attention to stuff like that.

I flew wizz a few times. Same same. I honestly can't tell any of them apart other than be colour.

You know it makes sense.

@phil_w, yep, want to feel welcome? Fly Virgin Upper

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@holidayloverxx, If you ever need someone to carry your bags just PM! wink

A snowHead

@chocksaway, not these days sadly

A snowHead

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Having used Ryanair fairly recently I would say they have improved a bit. In the past they were truly terrible with nasty practices such as adding a fee at the last minute for actually paying them these have now dissappeared, but you have to accept that they will deliberately seat you away from other members of your family. We use them very little as they donot have many routes we would use (Easyjet has many flights a day from Birmingham to Geneva. Ryanair has none for example)

For a review of the budget airlines see https://www.which.co.uk/reviews/airlines/article/best-and-worst-budget-airlines-aaCmL0z5emGG

A more accurate review can be found at
http://youtube.com/v/ZAg0lUYHHFc

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In fairness I haven’t flown Ryanair for years. Managed to hop around much of Europe for biz without needing to.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

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@Bergmeister, er I didn't say that. I've never felt unwelcome on any airline, but virgin upper are particularly good

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After all it is free

Absolute no brainer, going with Turin over Chambery and Grenoble, even with Ryan Air.

I have many friends in Serre Che who travel with Ryan Air to Turin, and yes there have been nightmares, but so too with BA from Gatwick to Turin, such as cancelled flights at the last minute.

Turin is a proper airport and not something that just handles seasonal TO flights, and as such is fully staffed, from baggage handlers through to passport control etc

We use it all year round, and car rental as has been mentioned is good, but please check all the relevant docs are in the car, as a friend only a couple of months ago had an accident and there was nothing in her car, plus they send that they would email the contract and she never received it, which all meant a good few hours on the phone!

Because we can’t get direct to Turin from Scotland we’ve booked easyjet to Milan Malpensa. It’s to the west of Milan so not too much extra on journey time. Any suggestions for supermarket stop en route to Montgenevre ?

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